Variable speed drive



Aug. 5, 1941. D. R. HUcKE VARIABLE SPEED DRIVE 4 Filed May 18, 1940 INVENTOR du @M2/Mi /J- .IlllllL IIII Il .l/IIV.

QL" AT RNEY ratios between thef'shafts.

Patented Aug. 5, 1941 UNITED h.s'rlvrl-:s PATENT oFFlcE .'Applliilonlll ekrltlmllli :1:2981

' 1 Claim. (Cl. 'I4-230.17)

'Ihis invention relatestov power transmissions for frictionally connecting separate' shafts for rotation together and has. particular reference tof means for selectively varying 'th rotational drive It is an object of the invention improved speed changing transmission-,for use v with so-called Vbelts.' v.

Another object of the invention-is to'provide,

in a power drive mechanism comprising spaced` drive and driven shafts which areV belt-connected through an intermediate countershaft, means for effecting ratio changes between-"the drive and driven shafts without disturbing their spaced relation with respect to the countershaft.

A further object of -the invention is to provide, in a device of the character described in which belts may be moved with respect to their pulleys so as to vary, radially of the pulleys, the respective points of frictional engagement of the belts therewith, means for maintaining the belts always at right angles to the rotational axes of the pulleys through the entire range of movement of the belts.

A still further object of the invention is to provide, in a deviceof the character described,

including .a countershaft equipped with Va dual pulley composed of a pair of pulley members,

'xed to and spaced axially of the shaft, having coned confronting faces, and an intermediate correspondingly coned disk which is slidable axially of the shaft between the pair of pulley membersso ,as to provide in conjunction with the pulley members a pair of pulleys having difscribedas various other embodiments thereof may beemplo'yed within the scope of the appendedclaim. v

Referring to the drawing the figure is a top plan view, partly in horizontal section, showing 'avariable speed drive including the improvem'ents of my invention.

There is. on the market at the present time, a number of speed change Atransmissions which employdrive-belts, having a keystone-shaped Vcross-section and which are commonly referred .to as'v belts, connecting a drive shaft with a driven Shaft through an intermediate countershaft. The pulleys used in these transmissions are each composed of a pair of disks having coned confronting faces so as to form a peripheral groove having tapered lsides complementary with theincluded angle of the inclined sides of the belt.` At least one of these disks is movable ax- .ially fof-the shaft so as to widen the peripheral inner extreme position. Usually, all of the pulleys on the drive shaft, driven shaft and countershaft are of this adjustable natureso that the drive ratiobetween the drive and driven shafts may be selectively varied between thel limits of adjustment of the pulleys.` 'I'he most simple.

means of varying the ratio between the shafts, and one which is employed by a number' of priorJ artdev'ices, is to flxedly mount the drive and driven vshafts against relative displacement and arrange the countershaft to be shifted axially transversely toward or from the drive or driven shafts. vThe countershaft, in such a structure, is

usually provided with a dual pulley having a pair of coned outer disks and an intermediate inner disk whose opposite faces are similarly coned and which is free to float on the countershaft axially toward and from each of the outer disks. 'I'he intermediate disk therefore serves as a common pulley member which lengages one side of each of the oppositely directed belts in tractional engagement withthe countershaft,. If one of 4these belts is arranged with its bight in the inner extreme position, and the other belt with its bight in the outer extreme position, it will be reaches the outer extreme position and the'largerv bight correspondingly and simultaneously decreasing in radius until it reaches its inner Aextreme position. While this alteration ofbelt of the pulley toward each other.

condition is taking place, the floating intermediate coned disk is shifting axially of the countershaft, being at all times in tractional engagement with both of the belts. Of course, the drive and driven shafts are each provided with automatically variable pitch pulleys, as shown in the drawing, in order to make this change of speed ratio possible.

There are two undesirable features inherent.

in the shifting countershaft type of speed transmission. The rst of these is that a rather complicated structure is required, to mount the countershaft for trans-axial movement, which complicates the transmission, requires excessive room and adds considerably to the total cost of the device. The second and most undesirable feature is that, due to the presence of the floating intermediate pulley disk on the countershaft, any

I have overcome these objectionable features in the device of my invention. inv detail, I have shown three separate organizations which will be referred to as the driving unit 2, the speedchange unit 3 and the driven unit d. The driving unit comprises a drive shaft 6, which is connected either directly, or through a suitable transmission system, with a prime mover, such as the motor 1, to be rotated thereby. Suitably secured, as by means of the setscrew 6, to the drive shaft 6, for rotation therewith, is a sleeve 9 having adjacent one end thereof a'. radially extending xed pulley flange Il having one face I2 thereof angularly inclined with respect to the axis of the shaft .to form a cone. A centrally bored hub I3, concentric with and slidable aX- ially of the sleeve 9, is provided with a radially extending flange I4 which has one face I6, conportion to the amount of tension in the belt 22 trans-axially of the drive shaft 9.

The driven shaft 26, which may be connected to any apparatus to be driven, is equipped with a pulley,"similar to the drive pulley, comprising la sleeve 21, which is secured to the shaft by means of'a setscrew 28, having a radially extending ange 29 which has a coned face 3|. A hub 32, slidable axially of the sleeve 21 and having a key 33- which secures the hub and sleeve together against relative rotation, is provided with a-radially extendingflange 34 also having a coned face 36. These coned faces 3| and 36 form, as in the drive pulley, a V-shaped peripheral groove in the driven pulley in which one bight of a driven belt 31 is tractionally engaged. A coil spring 38 is interposed between an end of the hub 32 and a collar 39 which is secured, by means fronting the flange Ii, angularly inclined with respect to the axis of the drive shaft to form a cone similar, but inclined oppositely, to the coned face of the flange II. The coned faces I2 and I6 of the flanges form a V-shaped peripheral groove in the drive pulley. The hub I3 is secured against relative rotation with respect to the sleeve 9 by a key I1, which allows for free relative axial movement between the hub and sleeve, and a coil spring I8, interposed 4between an end of the hub I3 anda collar I9, which is secured to the outer end of the sleeve by means ofl asetscrew 2l, forcibly urges the flanges II and I4 One bight of a V drive belt 22 is tractionally engaged in the peripheral groove of the drive pulley, and it will -be seen that if tension is applied to the reaches of the belt to force the belt deeper into the V-shaped gro'ove of the pulley, toward the apexes of the coned faces I2 and I6, the anges Il and I4 will be gradually spread apart, axially, against the tension' of the spring I8 until the belt reaches its inner extreme position as indicated by the dotted lines 23`and the flange I4 assumes the position indicated by the dotted lines 24. The

of a setscrew 40, to an end of the sleeve 21. As in the case of the drive pulley, tensioning of the driven belt 31 will cause the bight thereof to work from its outer extreme position shown by the dotted lines 4I to its inner extreme position shown by the solid lines. in its outer extreme position, the flange 34 will be urged by the spring 38 to assume the position shown by the dotted lines 42. As will be seen, both the drive and driven shaft pulleys are identical except that the flange I4 of the drive pulley is capable of movement to the left, as viewed in the drawing, while the ange 3&1 of the driven pulley is movable toward the right. The driven shaft is mounted for rotation in suitable journals, such as the ball bearings 43, provided in bearing brackets 44 mounted on a suitable base 45, and collars 46, which are secured to the shaft by setscrews 41, engage the respective bearings 43, or portions of the brackets 54, to prevent axial movement of the shaft with respect to its bearing mount.

I do not claim origination of the variable pitch pulleys just described as these are old and well known in the art. However, their detailed description ls necessary to a thorough understanding of the novel portions of the apparatus with which they are combined and which Will now be described.

'I'he speed-change unit comprises a pair of spaced brackets 48, which may be supported on a suitable base 49, containing journals, such as the ball bearings 5I, in which the opposite ends of a tubular countershaft 52, which is positioned intermediate, and parallel to, the drive and driven shafts, is mounted for rotation. Collars 53, which are secured by means of setscrews 54 to the countershaft, engage the bearings 5I, or other portions of the brackets 48,l so as to prevent axial movement of the countershaft in its journals. Secured, by vmeans of setscrews 56, to the countershaft, and relatively spaced axially of the latter, is a pair of disks 51 and 58 each having a confronting face 59 and 6I thereof angularly inclined, or coned, similar to the flanges of the drive and driven pulleys. Disposed between the disks 51 and 58, and slidable axially of the countershaft, is a shiftable disk 62 having the radial faces 63 and 64 thereof angularly inclined, with respect to the axis of the countershaft, complementarily with the faces 59 and 6I of the disks 51 and 58. The spacing, axially of the countershaft, between the disks 51 and 58 is such that when the bight of the drive belt 22 is in its inner extreme position, as shown in the drawing, the bight of the driven'belt 31 When the bight is will be in its outer extreme position, as shown, and vice versa.

Means is provided for moving the shiftable disk 52, to vary the effective diameters of the belt pulleys, and for securely maintaining the disk in any of its positions to which it may be adjusted. Concentric with, and slidable axially of, the tubular countershaft 52 is a shift rod 66 provided intermediate its ends with a transversely drilled aperture 61. The disk 62 has a pair of diametrically opposed bores 88 therein each having portions thereof adjacent the center of the disk threaded so as to receive threaded screws 89 which extend through elongated slots 14, formed in the countershaft, 'a'nd enter the aperture 61 of the shift rod thus connecting the shift rod and the disk 82 for movement axially of the countershaft. The outer end of the shift rod -66 is provided with a shoulder 12, which is secured by a nut 13 in a ball bearing 14 enclosed within a recess formed in the cross bar 16 of a yoke 11 which has slotted ears 18 extending from, opposite ends thereof and straddling guide rods 19 threadedly secured at one end in bosses 8l formed on one of the bearing brackets 48. A tie bar 82, which has, at opposite ends thereof, apertured bosses 83fengaging shoulders 84, formed at the outer ends of the guide rods 19, and secured 'thereon by nuts 86, is provided with a central bored hub 81 in which a cylindrical shank 88, to whichis secured, by a pin 89, a handwheelSI, is journaled. The shank 88 is provided With an integral collar 92, engagingone face of the hub 81, and with an integral threaded stem 93which passes through a complementarily threaded aperture provided in a boss 94 formed on the yoke 11. It will be seen that, by rotating the handwheel 9|. the yoke 'I1 may be caused to move axially along the guide rods 19 thereby imparting axial movement to the shifting rod 66 .and causing the shiftable disk 62 to be moved between one extreme position adjacent the disk 58, in which lt is shown by the solid lines of the drawing, to an opposite` extreme position adjacent the disk 51 in which it is shown by the dotted lines 98. It will also be seen that after the shiftable disk 82 has been adjusted to I a position between the ilxedly spaced disks 51 and 58, its position relative to the latter disks may be altered only by further manipulation of the handwheel. Thus the position of the shiftable disk cannot in any way be affected by variations in belt tension, and consequentlythe adjustment of the transmission will remain constant under all conditions of load.

It will be seen that, for example, when the handwheel 9| is rotated to cause the shiftable disk 62 to move from its right hand position shown in the drawing to its left toward the disk Aextreme position.

51 and away from the disk 58, the pressure of the faces v59A and .63 against the tapered sides of the beit 22 will be increased to a degree exceeding that exerted against the sides of the belt by the faces I2 and i6 of the drive pulley. This will cause the countershaft bight of the belt 22 to move radially of the disks toward its outer Simultaneously, the tapered faces lil-and 64 of the disks 58 and 62, in receding from each other, will allow the bight of the belt 31 to move radially of the disks toward its inner extreme position. This produces a condition of maximum speed reduction between the drive'shaft 6 and the driven shaftY 26. It will be noted, as shown by the dotted line positions of the parts in the drawing, that in moving from one extreme position thereof to the other, the belts move transversely only a distance equal to about one-third of their width and that in all positions duringl such movement, they arel always at right angles to the axes of the connected shafts. This, in obviating any lateral flexing of the belts enables the latter at all times to transmit a maximum of power without undue slippage.

Having thus described my invention in detail,

l what I claim as new and ldesire to secure by Let- CII ters Patent is:

InaI variable speed device, including spaced drive and driven shafts each being provided with a variable pitch V-belt pulley, a fixed support having journals therein, a tubular countershaft mounted in said journals and axially parallel with the drive and driven shafts, said countershaft having intermediate its ends vone or more elongated axially extending slots, a pair of axially spaced cone-faced' pulley disks mounted on said countershaft adjacent said slotsl thereof, a shiftable pulley disk, having opposite coned faces, slidably mounted on said countershaft and positioned between said cone-faced pulley disks, endless belts tractionally engag yfwith said-spaced pulley disks and shiftable dis /and the respective variable pitch pulleys of the drive and driven shafts, a shift rod slidably mounted within said tubular countershaft, pins passing through said countershaft slots and engaged at their opposite ends in said shift rod and shiftable pulley disk so as to secure the shiftablepulley disk and shift rod for movement together, a pair of guide rods mounted on and n'extending from said support, a -yoke slidably mounted on said guide rods, means connecting said yoke and an end`of said shift rod together for relative rotation, a tiebar secured to said guide rods. a screw journaled in said tie-bar and threadedly engaged with said yoke, and means for rotating said screw.

DONALD RIDER HUCKE. 

